Sowore, who made this known while speaking with journalists at the Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday, revealed that Egbetokun had sought a private meeting with him but insisted he would not give legitimacy to what he called an “unlawful tenure.”
Human rights activist and former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, on Wednesday said he rejected emissaries sent to him by the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, because agreeing to meet with the police chief would amount to legitimising what he described as Egbetokun’s “illegal position” as IGP.
Sowore, who made this known while speaking with journalists at the Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday, revealed that Egbetokun had sought a private meeting with him but insisted he would not give legitimacy to what he called an “unlawful tenure.”
He said, “The IG of Police, upon releasing me last week, sent emissaries to me on two occasions, saying he would like to meet with me.
"They suggested that if I met with the IG, there would be peace. But I outrightly rejected any form of formal or informal meeting with the IGP. That has angered him, and he is now saying I must come and meet with him.”
"I want you to know that I did not reject a meeting with him because it is inconvenient. I rejected it because the moment I meet with him, I would have legitimised his position as the subsisting IGP of Police. I do not believe he is legitimate, and I have stated this publicly," he stated.
The activist, who is currently facing fresh charges filed by the Nigeria Police Force, accused the police of weaponising the judiciary against him, pointing to the seizure of his passport and multiple cases slammed against him over the years.
"He even filed a charge against me before another judge in this court for calling him an illegal IG. They seized my passport because of that. When we went before the judge two days ago to request the release of my passport, the judge said there was no urgency in the matter since he is a vacation judge,” he said.
"But you can see the contradiction—there are only two vacation judges in this court. While they don’t treat passport requests as urgent, they consider it urgent to try me for an offense that doesn’t even exist."
He described the new three-count charge against him as “the most foolish charges” he had ever seen.
"I have read the charges, and I don’t need to tell you they are the most foolish charges. Anybody who drafted those charges should be expelled from the police. He should not even be a lawyer; his law school certificate is worthless,” he said.
"But it doesn’t matter. When you are dealing with kangaroo systems, charges will stick—whether they are written by mechanics or by lawyers. That is how these systems are designed.”
Sowore also asserted that this is the fourth time he has been dragged before a judge by the Nigerian police in recent years.
"I also want to remind you that this is the fourth time I have been charged by the same police force in the last three or four years. Under Buhari, they charged me with cybercrime and treason before eventually withdrawing them,” he said.
"Now, under this Egbetokun, this is the third charge. There is another subsisting one for calling him an illegal IG. There is also a charge from the FCT Command since 2022, which has not even reached arraignment.
"And I am sure they are planning yet another one, because yesterday they came here to request that my bank account be handed over to the IGP. There is absolutely no reason for that. But as the Yoruba say: ‘When flies feast on the wound of a madman, and the madman begins to eat the flies, nobody should call him mad.’”